Yarn conditioning composition



Patented Och 1939 UNITED STATES- PATENT oFFl cE" Eastman Kodak Company, Rochest er, N. Y., a;

corporation of New Jersey No Drawing.

Application February 3, 1938, Serial No. 188,581

11 Claims. (01. 87-93 This invention relates to compositions for conditioning synthetic yarns, and more particularly to emulsions of oils adapted for lubrication and/or tinting of yams composed of or containing organic derivatives of cellulose, such as cellulose acetate, cellulose propionate, cellulose acetate propionate, cellulose acetate butyrate and other types of synthetic materials.

As is well known, in the manufacture of synthetic yarns, particularly those composed of or containing organic derivatives of cellulose, such as cellulose acetate, it is necessary to treat the yarn to reduce the tendency toward breakage of the filaments or fibers when they are subjected 18 to various mechanical strains incident to the manufacture of textile products and especially to condition the yarn to adapt it for use as warp and filling, and also for various types of'knitting. The agents most commonly employed for this 20 purpose have usually been oils, such as animal, vegetable, and mineral oils, liquid waxes, as well as polyhydric alcohols such as glycerine, ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, propylene glycol and their ether and ester derivatives. sulfonated as 5 well as unsulfonated oils have likewise been employed as ingredients of yarn treating compositions. Such materials have heretofore been applied directly to the yarn or in admixture with solvents, diluents or other ingredients. The water an insoluble oils such as white mineral oil, and various other animal and vegetable oils have generally proved to be the best lubricants, it having been found that the most satisfactory method of applying such lubricants is to deposit them 35 on the yarn in the form of an aqueous emulsion.

However, diflicultyii often experienced in obtaining the proper degree of dispersion of the selected oilin the aqueous medium, and it is necessary to employ dispersing agents to accom- 40 'plish'this purpose.

In using such compositions in practice, it is also customary to add a dye or tint for the purpose of identifying the yarns to which the come position is applied as to number of filaments, 45 twist, denier, type of lubricating agent applied, type of yarn material, number of ends in warp weaving and similar processes, clarity of patterns in plaited textiles and for other purposes. With tinted and untinted lubricants the composi- 50 tion is applied by causing the yarn to pass across a wick that dips into, or a roll that rotates in, a

portion of the composition.

This invention'has asits principal object to provide an extremely simple and eillcient method 5 of dispersing a yarn lubricating oil in an aqueous vehicle. A further object is to provide a yarntreating composition composed of an oil highly dispersed in an aqueous medium. A still further object is to provide a composition adapted for :the lubrication of yarns composed of or con- 5 taining organic derivatives of cellulose such as cellulose. acetate, cellulose propionate, cellulose acetate propionate, cellulose acetate butyrate, and the like in which the lubricant is highly dispersed by means of anew and improved dispersing agent. A specific objectis to provide a composition adapted for the simultaneous lubrication and fugitive tinting df synthetic yarns, particularly those composed of cellulose acetate or similar synthetic materials. Other objects will appear hereinafter.

These objects are accomplished by the following invention which in its broadest aspects comprises incorporating a sulfonated wax with a: suitable yarn lubricating 2 oil and water in appropriate proportions tc produce a stable highly dispersed emulsion. We have found that the sulfonated waxes, typified bysulfonated spermaceti wax, sulfonated carnauba wax, sulfonated beeswax and sulfonated Japan wax are outstand I ing in their ability to disperse the commonly employed yarn lubricating oils, such as the animal, vegetable and mineral oils in an aqueous mediumand that such compositions are not only highly satisfactory from the standpoint of yarn lubrica-.

tion but are also extremely. stable and suffer a minimum of deterioration in use. v

In the following examples, and description I have set forth several of the preferred embodiments of my invention -but they are included 85 merely as an illustration and not as a limitation thereof. 4

' A highly satisfactory emulsion suitable for the conditioning of cellulose acetate and other cellulose organic derivative yarns may contain any- 40 where from about 95 to about 60% water and from about 5 to about 40% lubricating coniponents. In accordance with my invention'I add to the lubricating components from 10% to 35% of a sulfonated wax suchas spermaceti, carnauba, .1

beeswax or Japan wax. By thoroughly mixing. these ingredients the globules of water-insoluble oil are broken up into minute dropletswhich remain insuspension in the fluid and do not again tend to separate into phases the normal use of the composition.

.As is known, waxes are composed of or contain esters formed by the interaction of higher fatty monohydric alcohols and the higher fatty acids, and in some cases contain an admixture of higher 65,

Fugitive dyest I for example, as causing concentrated sulfuric acid to react with the selected wax, followed by washing the excess acid from the sulfonated mixture with saturated sodium sulfate solution. The resulting mixture is neutralized with caustic soda,

caustic potash or ammonia thereby producing a satisfactory sulfonated wax having an exceptionally high dispersing power for the commonly employed yarn lubricants.

The-oil employed in compounding many yarn treating compositions may be any one or a mixture of the well known animal, vegetable, or mineral oils suitable for use as yarn-lubricating agents. Among the animal oils may be mentioned lard oil, neats-foot oil, horse-foot .oil, sheeps-foot oil and tallo'w. Among the vegetable oils may be mentioned olive, caster, teaseed, hazel nut, peanut,'croton, and sesame. Certain of the liquid waxes such as those of the sperm oil group including sperm oil, dolphin oil, bottlenose oil may also be employed with satisfactory results. White mineral oil is one of 'the most satisfactory yarn lubricants and is espectially satisfactory for my purpose. The particular oil selected will of course vary with the type of yarn to which it is applied,

with the use to which the yarn is to be put and with many. other factors. The oils for most lubricating purposes have a Saybolt viscosity of from '50 to 350 at 100 F. and should preferably be pure and free from color.

Where it is desiredto produce a composition adapted for the simultaneous tinting and lubricating of synthetic yarns. in accordance with my' invention, a suitable water-soluble fugitive dyestufi or tint is mixed with or dispersed in the emulsion produced as described above.- The amount and nature of the dye or tint employed in a given case will depend, not only upon the nature of the yarn to be tinted, but also the depth of tinting and degree of fugitivity required. Any

one of hundreds of. such dyestufis which are fugitive with respect to cellulose acetate and other organic derivatives of cellulose-may be employed. A few typical examples are (St. Denis) Carmine Blue (Schultz 543Color Index 712), (B. A.- S. F.) Brilliant Carmine, (Schultz 300- Color Index 357), (C. M. M. C.) Brilliant Acid Blue, (Schultz 50'7Color Index 672) (St. Denis) Amidonaphthol Red (Schultz 66Color Index.

For most purposes, the concentration of the dyestuff in the fluid may range from .01% to 7%, although these percentages are in no sense critical.

. As furtherillustration of my invention, thefollowing typical yarn treating compositions produced in accordance therewith are set forth:

. Example I Parts White mineral oil 5 Olive oi 2 Sulfonated spermapeti wax 3 Water r 90 Example II I Parts White mineral oil 12 Olive oil 7 4 Sulfonated spermaceti wax 4 Water {l9 -1 The sulionated waxes suitable Example III Parts White mineral nil 25 Sulfonated camauba wax 5 Water 68 Fugitive dyest fl 2 Yam-treating compositions prepared as above described may be applied to the yarn by any of the standard procedures such as by bringing the yarn in contact with a wick, roll, or felt wet therewith or the liquid may be applied to the yarn by immersion, spray, or otherwise. As previously indicated, the compositions hereindescribed are broadly applicable to the lubrication and to the simultaneous lubricating and tinting of yarns composed of or containing cellulose acetate, cel lulose propionate, cellulose acetate propionate, cellulose acetate butyrate and many other single or mixed esters or other derivatives of cellulose as well as synthetic and natural yarns in general. In general the composition is so compounded and applied to the yarn that there is deposited thereon anywhere from 1-8% of the lubricant, based on the dry weight of the yarn. It is preferable to control the conditions of application so that the yarn will not only have the desired amount of liquid deposited thereon but will also have a residual moisture content of about 6 to 8%.

Although I have found it convenient to illustrate my invention by reference to compositions containing specific percentages of the various ingredients, thesepercentages may vary widely as above set forth depending upon the particular purpose for which the composition is intended.

The term yarn used herein and in the claims is to be understood as including a single filament, a plurality of filaments associated into the form of a thread, either of high or low twist single or multiple threads associated or'twisted together, composite threads composed of a mixture of natural and artificial filaments or a composite thread formed by twisting together individual strands of natural or artificial material as well as cut staplefibers produced from natural and/or synthetic filaments or threads and spun yarn produced from such staple fibers.

The yarn-conditioning compositions of my invention are distinguished by the fact that the lubricant isexceptionally highly dispersed therein and by the fact that such compositions possess an unusual and unexpected degree of stability under actual working conditions. So far as I am aware, the unusual properties of the sulfonated waxes "as dispersing agents, particularly for use in the compoundingof yarn treating compositions of the type herein described, have never been appreciated nor understood.

- What I clalmis:

1. The method of compounding a yam-conditioning composition adapted for the lubrication of yarns-composed of or containing organic derivatives of cellulose'which comprises dispersing a water-insoluble oil in an aqueous vehicle by -means of a sulfonated wax. 2- 'I'he. method of compounding a yarn-conditioning composition adapted forthe lubrication of yarns composed of or containing organic derivatives of cellulose which comprises dispersing a water-insoluble yarn lubricating oil in an aqueous vehicle by means of a sulfonatedvegetable wax.

The method of compoundingka yarn-condi-- tioning composition adapted for the lubrication of yarns composed of or containing organic derivatives of cellulose which comprises mixing a sulfonated wax with a water-insoluble oil and thereafter dispersing the oil inwater.

4. v A yam-conditioning composition adapted for the lubrication of yarns composed of or containing organic derivatives of cellulose comprising an emulsion composed of a water-insoluble oil and a sulfonated wax. dispersed in an aqueous vehicle.

5- A yarn-conditioning composition adapted for the lubrication of yarns composed 0 or containing organic derivatives of cellulose comprising an emulsion composed of a water-insoluble nondrying oil and a sulfonated vegetable wax.

6. A yarn-conditioning composition adapted for the lubrication of yarns composed of or containing organic derivatives of cellulose comprising an emulsion composed of a mineral oil and sulfonated spermaceti wax.

'7. A yarn-conditioning composition adapted for 8. A yarn-conditioning composition vadapted for the lubrication of yarns composed of or containing organic derivatives of cellulose comprising an emulsion composed of a mixture of mineral oil and olive oil and sulfonated spermaceti wax.

9. A yarn-conditioning composition adapted for the simultaneous lubrication and tinting of yarns composed of or containing organic derivatives of cellulose which comprises an emulsion composed of .a water-insoluble oil, a sulfonated wax and a fugitive dyestufl dispersed in an aqueous vehicle. 10, A yarn-conditioning composition adapted for the simultaneous lubrication and tinting of yarns composed of or containing organic derivatives of cellulose which comprises an emulsion composed of 5 to'40 parts by weight-of a mixture of a water-insoluble oil and sulfonated wax, 1

part by weight of a fugitive dyestufl dispersed in 94to 59 parts by weight of water.

11. The composition of claim 10 in which the mixture of oil and sulfonated wax contains 1 part by weight of the sulionated wax to substantially 3 to 7 parts of unsulfonated-oil.

' EDWIN A. ROBINSON. 

